‘Good time to get hot’: Wright family again in contention at NFR
Eight-time rodeo world champion Stetson Wright is out of competition at this year’s National Finals Rodeo. The reigning five-time all-around champion has missed the entire season due to a hamstring injury he suffered late last year.
That doesn’t mean the 25-year-old isn’t taking in this year’s action. He’s been at Thomas & Mack Center watching his brothers compete in saddle bronc riding.
Two-time saddle bronc world champion Ryder Wright has given his younger brother plenty to cheer for. After winning Sunday night’s saddle bronc riding go-round, Ryder Wright has taken over the lead in the overall standings.
“It felt awesome,” Wright said Sunday. “There’s nothing better than hearing a 90 point score at the Thomas & Mack.”
Wright, 26, received a score of 90.5 points Sunday and claimed $33,687 in earnings. The ride helped Wright jump Damian Brennan for the top spot in the standings in a tight saddle bronc title fight.
“It’s always huge. There’s a lot of money to be won,” Wright said. “It’s a good time to get hot, I guess. We’ll just keep trying to keep the ball rolling. Hopefully, they keep rolling good horses under me.”
‘My biggest enemy’
Wright took another victory lap around Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, sharing the go-round win with Brody Wells. Both riders scored 89.5 points for their runs. Wright claimed $30,155.46 in earnings and leads Brennan by more than $23,750 in the overall standings.
“That horse pretty much did exactly what I thought she was going to do,” Wright said Monday. “It’s huge to keep the ball rolling, keep the momentum going. There’s five more rounds here, a lot of money to be won, so we’re just going to keep chugging away.”
Ryder Wright won his first saddle bronc title in 2017 in his second trip to NFR. He won the title again in 2020. After finishing second to his brother Stetson in 2021, Ryder Wright couldn’t get back near the top of the standings. He finished 10th in 2022 and was seventh last year.
His NFR runs the last two years were not his best. Wright only placed in two rounds in 2022 and in five in 2023.
Wright said some of his struggles started with him getting in his own head.
“I just stay out of my own way. It seems like I’ve been my biggest enemy, I guess you could call it, here at the Thomas & Mack,” Wright said. “I’ll get in my head when things don’t go right. I just try to stay out of my own way. I know how to ride broncs, so I just try to keep it simple.”
This year Wright is having a bounce-back season in a deep saddle bronc class. He’s won 10 events and was co-champion at five other rodeos.
“There’s a great group of bronc riders here,” Wright said. “The horses are unmatched. We’ve never seen horses as good as they are today. To be able to come up here and with all the great bronc riders and all the great horses and come out on top, it’s awesome.”
Wright has claimed earnings in three of his four runs at NFR through Sunday. He finished second on his first run Thursday.
‘Supposed to be this way’
As Rider Wright goes on his nightly run, Stetson Wright watches from a suite inside the arena. Stetson Wright cheers on his brother and mimics the moves Ryder makes while riding his horse.
“A lot of people don’t see that throughout the year, but he’s like that all year,” Ryder Wright said. “To be able to come here and people bring it to light, it’s awesome. It’s cool to have that many people have faith in you as much as you do in yourself.”
Statler Wright, the youngest of the four Wright brothers, is also competing in saddle bronc. The Wrights are one of the most decorated rodeo families. Father Cody is a two-time saddle bronc champion and Ryder has several uncles that also competed in saddle bronc.
“We grew up doing this,” Ryder Wright said. “Since we were little, we’ve been competing against each other and supporting each other. It’s nothing new on this stage. This is what we’ve dreamed of forever. It feels like it’s just supposed to be this way.”
NFR is beginning the second half of its 10-day stay. There are five more runs for Wright to continue to battle for the top spot with Brennan and four-time champion Zeke Thurston.
Wright is on his way to having his best NFR since his runner-up finish in 2021. But ask him after the final night to get a verdict on how his season went.
“It’s been awesome. I’ve had an awesome year,” Wright said. “I’ll let you know in about a week how good it is.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
NFR rookie gets first tie-down roping win
Joel Harris made a strong first impression at his first tie-down roping run in his first appearance at the National Finals Rodeo with a second-place finish Thursday.
The San Angelo, Texas, native got to experience taking a victory lap around Thomas & Mack Center a few days later.
Harris won Monday's tie-down roping go-round with a time of 7.6 seconds. He was the only roper to get into the seven-second bracket Monday.
"You kind of think of all the moments in your life and working hard and it culminating to a moment of taking that lap around the arena," Harris said. "Everyone cheering you on, there's no better feeling than that."
It wasn't the "fastest run in the world," as Harris put it, but it was good enough to claim $33,687.18 in earnings.
"It was good enough on the night of strong calves," Harris said. "I made a good run and it paid off a lot of money. I'm just happy that I got to experience that. Nothing sweeter than taking that victory lap."
Harris also had a third-place finish on the third night of competition Saturday. He's claimed more than $90,414 in earnings at NFR and sits fifth in the overall standings.
"I had some tough luck in between those (strong) runs," Harris said. "Overall, it's been a very fun finals. I didn't know if I was going to take a victory lap or not. It really wasn't my focus, but I'm sure happy that I took one."
Harris, 22, entered NFR 13th in the overall standings and won three events.
"For me personally, just seeing myself be able to do something (this) week after not succeeding in years past and to put the hard work in that it takes to get to this level and perform well, it really excited me," Harris said. "I hope I can continue to build and continue to get better."
Harris said the win doesn't change his confidence level for the rest of NFR. He said he was more excited about the opportunity to share the moment with his family and have fun.
"It's a lot," Harris said of his first NFR experience. "There's so much going on and you have to be really focused. You just have to be mindful of staying focused for your run and you have to make that a goal to stay focused."
Other go-round winners:
— Jacob Lees, Caldwell, Idaho, and Dean Thompson, Altamont, Utah, tied for first in bareback riding (91 points).
— Jesse Brown, Baker City, Oregon, in steer wrestling (3.6 seconds).
— Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, Texas, in team roping 3.6 seconds.
— Kassie Mowry, Dublin, Texas, in barrel racing (13.43 seconds).
— Cooper James, Erda, Utah, in bull riding (88.5 points).
